Oligodendrocytes are specialized brain cells that can change to cells that produce myelin and protect nerves. This study investigates the capacity for different extracellular matrix cues to induce this effect in culture.
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An Experiment to Assess the Usefulness of a Virtual Environment as a Method of Public Speaking Anxiety Exposure
This experiment assessed the effectiveness of a virtual environment as a method of exposure in the treatment of high school students’ public speaking anxiety. The results show that participants’ heartbeat was higher when they wore a VR headset than when they did not.
Read More...Do Attractants Bias the Results of Malaise Trap Research?
Malaise traps are commonly used to collect flying insects for a variety of research. In this study, researchers hypothesized the attractants used in these traps may create bias in insect studies that could lead to misinterpreted data. To test this hypothesis two different kinds of attractant were used in malaise traps, and insect diversity was assessed. Attractants were found to alter the dispersion of insects caught in traps. These findings can inform future malaise traps studies on insect diversity.
Read More...Synergistic Effects of Metformin and Captopril on C. elegans
Kadıoğlu and Oğuzalp study the synergistic effects of Metformin and Captopril, two commonly prescribed drugs for type 2 diabetes and hypertension, respectively. Using C. elegans nematodes as a model system, the authors find that the nematodes decreased in average body length when exposed to Metformin or Captopril individually, but grew 11% in body length when both drugs were used together. Because C. elegans body size is regulated in part by the TGF-β signaling pathway, the authors suggest that synergistic effects of these two drugs may be modulating TGF-β activity, a previously uncharacterized phenomenon.
Read More...Computational evidence for differential endocrine disruption by DEHP and PET via estrogen receptor beta binding
The authors demonstrate computationally that two types of nanoplastics can bind to estrogen receptor beta and potentially disrupt endocrine systems.
Read More...Applying machine learning to breast cancer diagnosis: A high school student’s exploration using R
The authors combine fine needle aspiration biopsy and machine learning algorithms to develop a breast cancer detection method suitable for resource-constrained regions that lack access to mammograms.
Read More...The effect of calcium on mealworm iron metabolism
The authors looked at the impact of calcium on iron absorption in mealworms, hypothesizing that calcium would inhibit iron absorption.
Read More...Optimized biochemical depolymerization of plastics from surgical face masks
The authors combine chemical, enzymatic, and microbial-based methods to optimize degradation of plastics within a surgical facemask.
Read More...Evaluating the predicted eruption times of geysers in Yellowstone National Park
The authors compare the predicted versus actual geyser eruption times for the Old Faithful and Beehive Geysers at Yellowstone National Park.
Read More...Contribution of environmental factors to genetic variation in the Pacific white-sided dolphin
Here the authors sought to understand the effects of different variables that may be tied to pollution and climate change on genetic variation of Pacific white-sided dolphins, a species that is currently threatened by water pollution. Based on environmental data collected alongside a genetic distance matrix, they found that ocean currents had the most significant impact on the genetic diversity of Pacific white-sided dolphins along the Japanese coast.
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